Muzzle brakes are devices that redirect combustion gases exiting the barrel of a gun in order to reduce the recoil and unwanted rising of the barrel. When a gun is fired, rapidly expanding gases caused by burning powder propel the bullet forwardly. According to Newton's Third Law, an equal force is exerted in the rearward direction and it is felt as recoil by the gun user. The amount of the recoil is a function of the total mass and velocity of the bullet and propellant gases. Muzzle brakes operate by redirecting the propellant gases exiting the gun barrel to minimize or eliminate the contribution of the propellant gases to the recoil. Reducing the recoil makes the gun more controllable and is particularly useful in automatic or rapid fire weapons.
Muzzle brakes have been used on guns for decades, but there is a limit to their effectiveness. The total mass of the propellant gases exiting the gun barrel is much less than the mass of the bullet. Even assuming that 100% of the propellant gases could be redirected in a reverse direction, the recoil forces would not be eliminated. Of course, complete redirection of the propellant gases is not possible and the best designs reduce recoil by only about 35%.
Accordingly, there is a need for improvements in muzzle brakes that can achieve reduction in recoil by more than 35%.